GREENSBORO, N.C. — Bennett College is no longer accredited.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) made the announcement on Friday.
On February 18, 2019, the Appeals Committee met and found the SACSCOC Board of Trustees' decision to be "reasonable, not arbitrary, and based on the standards cited."
The Appeals Committee found that Bennett College had "failed to show that the institution possesses resources demonstrating a stable financial base to support the mission and scope of programs and services."
High Point University President,, Dr. Qubein released this statement about ASCACOC's decision to terminate Bennett's accreditation.
“We are saddened to hear the news about Bennett College and don’t have access to the specifics of the accreditation decision. HPU and I worked diligently to assist and support our neighborhood sister school that is also associated with the United Methodist Church as we are. We have no regret about stepping up and stepping out to partner with Bennett in their fundraising campaign. HPU is a God, family, and country school and being helpful is what we do whenever we can.” –High Point University President Nido Qubein
BACKGROUND
The SACSCOC Board of Trustees voted to terminate the accreditation of Bennett College on December 9, 2018 due to inadequate financial resources.
Two days later, Bennett learned that it was removed from SACSCOC membership.
The college acted quickly and filed a letter of appeal, alleging the SACSCOC Board of Trustees' decision was "arbitrary, unreasonable, and not consistent with the published Principles of Accreditation or SACSCOC policies," among other things.
During the appeal process, the institution was able to maintain it's accreditation on a probation period.
SACSCOC Board of Trustees and Bennett College were both notified about the Appeals Committee's decision.
Bennett College's accreditation was officially terminated on February 18, 2019.